Indiana’s plunging abortion rate is solid evidence that life-affirming policies enacted by the Indiana state legislature, in particular informed consent policies, have resulted in far more women opting to choose life instead of abortion. Informed consent laws in Indiana provide women with information on the risks of the abortion procedure, alternatives to abortion, scientific facts on human development and more.

It isn’t idle speculation that informed consent laws are bringing down the number of abortions. This fact is based on the hard numbers emerging from Indiana since 1995, the year the Indiana General Assembly passed Indiana’s first informed consent bill.

Gov. Evan Bayh

At the time of Indiana’s passage of its first version of informed consent, Evan Bayh was serving as governor while presiding over a disastrous period of rising abortion numbers. From Bayh’s first year as governor in 1989 to his departure in 1997, Indiana’s abortion numbers jumped from 12,704 to 13,209, an increase of 4% or 505 unborn children. Not coincidentally, Bayh vetoed the informed consent bill when passed in 1995, triggering a legislative override of his veto followed by federal and state court battles that would last into 2003.

Here is the significant data: in 1995, the year informed consent passed in Indiana, the number of abortions was 12,425. The next two years, as an injunction blocked informed consent from going into effect, total abortions rose above the 13,000 mark to 13,341 (1996) and 13,209 (1997). In 1998, a modified injunction went into effect, allowing most of the informed consent provisions to be enacted. As Bayh departed as governor and the modified injunction went into effect, the number of abortions in 1998 immediately began to drop to 12,443. The numbers have never reached that level again, and with the exception of a few years of upticks (some of which appear to have been the result of the state’s past data collection process – but that’s a blog for another day), the abortion numbers slide has continued unabated through 2015.

The raw numbers don’t lie. Since Indiana’s informed consent provisions were allowed to go into effect by the courts in 1998, there has been a 36 percent drop in abortions in Indiana, or 4,486 fewer children aborted in 2015 compared to 1998.

Abortion businesses refuse to acknowledge the impact of informed consent in lowering Indiana’s abortions, preferring instead to make claims that their role in the widespread distribution of contraceptives is the cause for the drop. Their tortured reasoning fails to hold water. Since 1995, proponents of “anything goes” population control have operated in the same basic fashion as they did before 1995 when abortion numbers were skyrocketing. Their philosophies haven’t deviated at all, but the truly definitive line of change came when informed consent finally went into effect.

Planned Parenthood, Evan Bayh and others did their best to block informed consent in Indiana in 1995. That same obstructive strategy is alive today as evidenced by the new ACLU-Planned Parenthood suit against Indiana’s requirement that women be offered the opportunity to view an ultrasound of their baby at least 18 hours prior to an abortion. What is the driving force behind this opposition? Why is providing more information on the risks of abortion, alternatives to abortion and the humanity of the unborn child viewed as such a threat? Perhaps we need to look no further than the detrimental financial impact informed consent is having on the business of killing babies.

Time and time again, abortion supporters have mocked and opposed informed consent legislation, claiming these measures are unneeded. The numbers in Indiana tell a very different story. Informed consent works in helping women to make truly informed choices and in saving lives. And that’s great news for Indiana.

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Posted by mfichter | Filed Under Blog | Comments Off on This One Thing is Making Abortion Numbers Plummet in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS – A new report by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) shows that the abortion rate continues to decline in Indiana. In 2015, there were 7,957 abortions, compared to 8,118 in 2014. Abortions have declined in Indiana for seven consecutive years. Indiana’s all-time high number of abortions was 16,505 in 1980.

The report shows that chemical abortions, a drug combination of Mifepristone and Misoprostol, continues to increase. In 2015, chemical abortions accounted for 27.9 percent of abortion procedures. Other procedures used in Indiana in 2015 were dilation and evacuation (19 abortions) and suction curettage (5,713 abortions).

Sue Swayze, Indiana Right to Life Vice President for Public Affairs, said, “If John Gregg was governor today, we would be looking at a much different trend over the last three years. The fact is, Gov. Pence’s pro-life administration has promoted life over abortion, leading to another year of declining abortion numbers in Indiana. Gov. Pence’s Real Alternatives program offers compassionate care at pregnancy resource centers to women in challenging situations. Indiana is a decidedly pro-life state because we have leaders willing to fight for alternatives to abortion.

“We will keep fighting for the right to life until no more babies lose their lives through abortion. The new state report indicates that 7,957 children never took their first breath and 7,957 women were sold the lie of the abortion industry. We mourn for both the lives lost and the women whose lives will never be the same. Abortion hurts both women and children.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Right to Life President and CEO, Mike Fichter, released the following statement upon reports that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is Donald Trump’s running mate on the Republican presidential ticket:

“Gov. Pence is devoted to protecting the unborn and their mothers. Gov. Pence’s pro-life stance is more than a talking point; Gov. Pence has put his pro-life position into action time and time again. Indiana is a better state for the unborn and their mothers because of the Governor’s pro-life leadership.

“Even before becoming the state’s top executive, Gov. Pence demonstrated his willingness to fight for the protection of life in a meaningful way. In Congress, Pence led the effort to defund the nation’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood.

“Since becoming governor, Gov. Pence has advanced the pro-life cause through legislation and his administration. Under Gov. Pence, there are four fewer abortion facilities. The state abortion rate has been steadily declining every year. The state is enforcing health regulations that protect women’s health, and abortion doctors know they don’t have a free pass.

“Gov. Pence’s Real Alternatives program at pregnancy resource centers offers life-affirming and compassionate care to women through pregnancy and as they begin parenting. In a one-year pilot program in Northern Indiana, Real Alternatives served more than 8,000 clients. Gov. Pence also has sought to promote adoption through the first ever state income tax credit for Hoosier families who adopt and by hosting an annual Adoption Fair highlighting this loving option. Gov. Pence has also made sure that Hoosiers are not required to subsidize abortions through their health insurance premiums.

“Gov. Pence has signed legislation to bring dignity to the unborn and their mothers. Among the pro-life measures signed by Gov. Pence:

Prohibit children from being targeted for abortion on the sole basis of their sex, race, national origin or a potential disability

Provide final dignified disposition of aborted babies so that they aren’t treated as medical waste or used for experiments

Require that abortion doctors document their admitting privileges with the State Department of Health

Increase awareness of positive support for parents of Down syndrome children

Provide information on perinatal hospice to parents who receive an adverse prenatal diagnosis

Increase informed consent measures for women seeking abortions, including full color photos of fetal development printed in informed consent information

Protect consumers from being forced to pay for private insurance plans that include unrestricted abortion coverage

“Gov. Pence brings his pro-life credentials to the Trump presidential ticket. In contrast, Hillary Clinton has sought to expand abortion access and fund the life-ending procedure with our tax dollars. She has a cozy relationship with the abortion industry and cannot be trusted to protect life.

“Gov. Pence will advance the cause of life on the campaign trail this fall and will defend the unborn and their mothers if elected Vice President.”

Indiana Right to Life’s mission is to protect the right to life, especially of unborn children, through positive education, compassionate advocacy and promotion of healthy alternatives to abortion.

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Posted by mfichter | Filed Under News | Comments Off on Pence Is Devoted Pro-Life Advocate

Fichter: The videos opened our eyes to the entire industry using babies for experiments

INDIANAPOLIS – Today, July 14, marks the one-year anniversary of the release of the first Center for Medical Progress video. The video featured undercover footage and conversations that showed a Planned Parenthood official discussing the harvesting and sale of baby body parts for profit.

In the year since the first video’s release, the Center for Medical Progress has produced additional videos and transcripts documenting the baby parts scandal. The videos have led to Congressional and state-level investigations. A state investigation in Missouri uncovered evidence that aborted baby body parts from Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri were being shipped to MedAssure, a medical waste company, in Indianapolis. MedAssure’s license did not allow it to handle aborted baby body parts.

“David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress staff exposed the dark secrets of the abortion industry,” said Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. “Planned Parenthood has been forced to defend its barbaric practices of ripping unborn babies apart and profiting twice – once from the woman experiencing a crisis pregnancy and again from the companies seeking baby body parts for experiments.

“The Center for Medical Progress videos brought to light the sad truth that aborted baby parts from Missouri were being destroyed in Indianapolis. The videos opened our eyes to the entire industry using babies for experiments. We recently learned that Indiana University uses aborted baby body parts for experiments. We wholeheartedly reject this horrific practice and urge university researchers to use cells only derived from ethical means.

“It is no surprise that Daleiden has had legal charges brought against him, because the abortion industry always turns to the courts to protect it. Last month a judge dismissed an indictment against Daleiden, evidence that the charge was politically-motivated. If Daleiden was exposing an industry other than abortion he would be celebrated for his journalism, not prosecuted.”

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Indiana Right to Life and Allen County Right to Life share that Nathan Grime, 2016 graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School, placed second in the National Right to Life Jane B. Thompson Oratory Contest on July 9 in Herndon, Va. Grime earned the opportunity to compete in the national contest after winning the Allen County Right to Life and Indiana Right to Life Oratory Contests this spring.

“Nathan did an excellent job representing Indiana,” said Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. “Nathan provided an articulate defense of the preborn and we look forward to his future in the pro-life movement. Congrats, Nathan!”

“We’re proud of Nathan and his hard work,” shared Abigail Eschelbach, Allen County Right to Life Operations and Media Director. “We wish Nathan the best as he enters college and continues to advocate for the right to life.”Grime’s seven-minute speech uses a wall theme to explain how abortion has built a wall between us and our humanity. He began his speech with a reference to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall and said, “In 1973, the year the United States began to withdraw its troops from the effort in Vietnam, a very different wall was beginning to be built. This wall wouldn’t serve as a commemoration like the one today in Washington, but instead would be a barrier set on the foundation of injustice. It stands between a child’s conception and birth and divides those of us who have already been born. If the names of every little boy and girl killed by abortion were etched into a wall like the Vietnam Memorial, that wall would extend for nearly 100 miles. Such a wall, however, cannot have names on it, because these children never lived to be named.” Grime continued his speech with factual information on racial and gender disparity seen in abortion statistics, the positive work of pregnancy resource centers and his personal encounter with adoption. He called for our nation to rise up and combat abortion.